Computer hardware worth cores is lying underutilised at the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research. Purchased in 2007 to make the institute patient-friendly, much of the equipment has outlived its life, according to an audit conducted by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

PGIMER entered into an agreement with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) on March 28, 2007, for the computerisation of the hospital information system on a turnkey basis at a cost of Rs 21.70 crore.

The project was to be implemented within a period of two years in three phases, which were to be completed by March 24, 2008, September 24, 2008, and March 24, 2009.

“None of the phases of computerisation has been completed even after the lapse of more than six years of entering into contact with C-DAC (December 2013). The computer hardware worth crores of rupees installed in the institute by C-DAC is losing useful life without putting these to optimal use due to inordinate delay in computerisation,” says the audit report.

As many as 12 servers of HP make, costing $87,854 (about Rs 52 lakh), have already been declared ‘retired product’ by the vendor, says the report.

“Further, enquiry has revealed that the ‘end of life’ of these servers has been scheduled for July 2016. Thus, these servers have lost significant portion of their useful life without optimal utilisation,” the report says.

The report notes that C-DAC was liable for penalties for the delay in the implementation of the computerisation project. However, PGIMER released payments to the tune of Rs 11.62 crore to C-DAC up to April 2013, without levying a penalty of Rs 7.14 crore, the audit report says.

The PGIMER officials, in a reply to CAG, stated, “A committee has been constituted… to look into the matter from all angles, including penalty related to delay in computerisation project, but no action has been taken yet.”